The Growth of Milk Alternatives in Chocolate

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I look at my sister’s children and think that the chocolate we’re manufacturing today is the sort of nostalgia I want to offer them because I believe it’s a better system for the future.

-Joshua Rosen, Charm School Chocolate Founder

Coconut milk chocolate has become a fairly typical component of any artisan chocolate maker’s product range. Yet, the number of plant-based milks seems to be growing by the day. There’s something for everyone’s nutritional needs, from nuts and legumes to fruits and grains, and none of them come from a cow. This surge of milk substitutes has now made its way into the chocolate business, with some large-scale chocolate makers even offering vegan chocolate brands.

So, what does this movement imply for the chocolate business and the world at large? To get some answers, I met with the inventor of a vegan chocolate business and a decades-old chocolate firm that sells a wide variety of vegan chocolates. Today’s episode discusses how we may broaden the meaning of chocolate in a manner that is both sustainable and tasty.

Click here to read an article about this episode.

We cover the following topics:

• background on powdered milk & the dairy industry
• reasons for shifting away from milk products
• defining veganism & “vegan” products
• the power of nostalgia in maintaining various foods
• greenwashing in chocolate
• legal definitions of chocolate & how they affect vegan alternatives
• waves of societal change which have contributed to demand for non-dairy chocolates
• the logistics of experimenting with milk alternatives for chocolate
• the effects of climate change upon our food systems and consumption choices
• how large chocolate manufacturers will play a role in our shift away from dairy

Display Timeline

0:00-2:40 Introduction to milk and the dairy business, as well as the concept of plant-based alternatives.

2:40-15:40 Joshua Rosen discusses the creation and reception of his firm in the early 2010s, as well as the sustainable expansion of people’s awareness of milk chocolates. In addition, defining greenwashing in relation to the rise of non-dairy milk chocolates.

15:40-32:05 Julia Zotter discusses the creation and extension of Zotter’s vegan chocolate line, the role of social pressure in extending plant-based milks in mass-market chocolates, and a primer on the chemistry of milk chocolate manufacture.

Joshua Rosen’s last thoughts on the future of non-dairy milk chocolate manufacturing and the development of sustainable systems are at 32:05-36:56. Additionally, the episode’s conclusion.

More About Our Visitors

Joshua Rosen is the founder of Charm School Chocolate, a long-established vegan chocolate business situated in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Charm Schools may be found on the web, Instagram, and Facebook.

Julia Zotter is a second-generation chocolate maker and the creative director of Zotter Chocolate, her family’s chocolate firm. Visit Zotters on Facebook, Instagram, and their website.

Further Reading

• Quick history of powdered milk
• Academic look at the rise of plant-based milks
• Definition of veganism
• Mars’ new vegan chocolate line
• Trader Joe’s new vegan line
• Overview of the environmental impact of the five most popular plant-based milk

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www.kai-engel.com ) of Freemusicarchive.org Our show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is Were Gonna Be Around by People Like Us and a variety of Lobo Loco tunes. Also included are Freemusicarchive.org excerpts of Too Grimy by Yung Kartz (www.yungkartzbeats.com) and Homeroad by Kai Engel (http: